Arsene Wenger has told beIN Sports that he believes that Arsenal will win the Premier League this season, claiming that Manchester City are much more vulnerable defensively than in previous years.
The Gunners host Pep Guardiola’s side in an absolutely massive game at the top of the table. Arsenal currently lead the table by three points and they have a game in hand over City.
However, Mikel Arteta’s men are not enjoying the best spell of form. They have not won any of their last three games in all competitions, including a defeat to City in the FA Cup last month.
Wenger backs Arsenal to win Premier League title
That has allowed the Cityzens to close the gap at the top of the table. And it really does feel that Wednesday’s clash is going to allow one side to strike a real psychological blow ahead of the remaining weeks of the campaign.
Nothing will be decided at the Emirates. But it could give one side the upper hand. And Wenger clearly feels optimistic for his old club.
The Frenchman was asked whether Arsenal will win the title this season. And he seemed pretty confident.
“I would say yes because I feel the usual threats in the Premier League are all out of the race, and the only threat is City,” he told beIN Sports. “And even City is not as dominant as they were last year or two years before. And I feel since the start of the season, City was more vulnerable defensively than they were the years before.”
Arsenal have raised their game for their biggest fixtures of the season so far. So you really can see form going completely out of the window when they meet.
They have also been given reason for extra motivation. Arsenal rightly felt aggrieved that they conceded an equaliser against Brentford at the weekend. The goal should not have stood due to an offside in the build-up.
The club are not lodging a complaint. And you would imagine that Arteta will want to use that to their advantage, creating an us versus them mentality. The Gunners have been amazing when they have felt like their backs have been against the wall.
Wednesday is their biggest test yet.
Anthony Taylor appointed as referee for Arsenal vs Manchester City – 19:30 (GMT)
With the opportunity to go top of the Premier League, Manchester City face Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on Wednesday evening in the biggest game of the season so far. The Premier League has appointed Anthony Taylor as the referee.
Anthony Taylor
One of the PGMOL’s most trusted referees, Taylor has officiated the Blues 36 times. However, City don’t have the best recent record with him in charge, losing twice to Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool once, drawing to both West Ham and Liverpool 2-2 – and finally, just the one victory against Wolves.
Despite the poor results, the 44-year-old awarded City three penalties in those six games. Pep Guardiola’s side did miss two of those – Sergio Aguero’s panenka attempt against Chelsea and Riyad Mahrez’s late miss against West Ham at the end of the last season.
As for cards, the Wythenshawe-born official has dished out 55 yellow cards and two reds in the league; that’s an average of 3.67 yellows per game. In the UEFA Champions League, however, his record increases; Taylor has given out 19 cards in just four games.
SOURCE: tbrfootball.com, mcfcreport.com
